Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The NAACP has been attempting to re-brand it's image as of
late; instead of being seen strictly as an organization giving voice to the
concerns of the African-American community, they have admirably positioned
themselves to be speak for all disenfranchised and marginalized people of color
in our society.

Apparently, the best way to drive that point home is to give
a convicted murderer---who happens to be white---a scholarship to the
prestigious Tulane University School of Law

The violent criminal background of Bruce Reilly, 38, was
exposed by legal blog, Above The Law, last week.

In 1992, Reilly was found guilty of murder for stabbing and
bludgeoning to death Emerson College professor Charles A. Russell in Rhode
Island --- allegedly he "flipped out" after being invited to the
professor's house to smoke marijuana and engage in oral sex, according to a
source in 1993.

During his incarceration, Reilly became a passionate human
rights advocate and screenwriter, and states that he was completely upfront
when applying for admittance into Tulane:

"By the time I apply to a state or federal bar, my last
criminal activity will be as a teenager, and over two decades passed. I will be
presenting a model case for rehabilitation, an impressive resume, and a
substantial list of esteemed supporters," Reilly wrote in a letter to
Above the Law. "I have found that a majority of our society believes in
forgiveness and second chances, and all I can do is keep doing what I'm
doing."

Though students have voiced concerns that he may become
violent again when faced with the daily stress of law school --- and disbelief
that as school loans skyrocket and competition for scholarships becomes even
more strenuous, a convicted murderer passed muster when so many others fail ---
Tulane's dean stands by his decision:

"We evaluate each law school applicant as an
individual, taking into account all available information bearing on their
character, life story and academic qualifications," said Dean David Myer
in a statement. "Our admission process also allows for exceptional
circumstances if the prospective student's experience and background will
contribute to his and his peers' study and appreciation of various aspects of
the law."

The NAACP has yet to release a statement.

In addition to the scholarship from the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People, Reilly also received a Dean's Merit
Scholarship.

Many advocates will say that Reilly has served his debt to
society and should be allowed to re-enter freely and succeed on his merits, not
fail because of his past --- and they would be correct; however, when you
factor in the glaringly obvious standards by which a white ex-con in the United
States of America is held next to his Black counter-part, many will find it
nauseating that a white man who freely admits to cold-blooded murder at the age
of 20 is becoming the face of fairness and justice while Troy Davis --- and
others like him --- face imminent execution for murders when no evidence even
exists that they're guilty, in fact, it points to the contrary.

Maybe Tulane feels that now is an appropriate time to
conduct a pseudo-scientific study gauging law students' reactions to having a
murderer in their midst, forcing them to come to grips with their own
prejudices and biases, subsequently enabling them to approach the law from a
more holistic, brutally honest perspective --- I don't.

Reilly holds no illusions about his notoriety, and is open
about his regret even as he benefits from his heinous crime:

"In some ways I deserve this. I brought this on
myself," he told The Times-Picayune. "For the last 19 years, I've had
to come to grips every day with the terrible thing I've done. I took a man's
life. How can I possibly brush that off, or make up for it?"

I have no idea how you'll "make up for it," Mr.
Reilly---that's between you and your conscience---, but the NAACP is apparently
going to help you pay for it.

*******************

Kirsten West Savali is a Senior Editor and writer at Your
Black World. You can connect with her on Facebook and Follow her on Twitter:
@KWestSavali

6 comments:

This angers me to no end. Sadly, though, it's what I've come to expect from the NAACP.

It is, after all, the National Association for the Advancement of CERTAIN People.

This is the same organization that awarded the Confederate flag wearing/waving Kid Rockan NAACP Image Award. Kid Rock is (and has been) a Confederate. He hoists giganticconfederate flags at all of his concerts... yet... the colored people who run NAACP sees no contradiction with this.

So... based on that (and other incidents) I am no longer shocked over the insanitycommitted by the NAACP.

The story you sent makes me reflect on the high recidivism rate of Black men. It alsomakes me think about Mumia, Troy Davis, Geronimo Pratt, and the thousands of Black who are wrongly convicted or wrongly incarcerated by the white supremacysystem of criminals injustice. These Brothers and Sisters never live down the stigmaof incarceration and their lives are forever destroyed.

Yet... a so-called Black organization sees fit to not only bring a white murderer into theirinstitutional embrace... but they go so far as to pay for his college education.

We live in a sick, twisted age of extreme backwardness and psychic violence.

I am appalled, incensed and I want to use a few four-letter words right now, but I won't. I'm a college student and it's been impossible for me to get the local NAACP to answer the phone, let alone offer me a scholarship.If the NAACP want's to change their image, start with the image their own community has of them. This is a slap in the face, pure and simple. There is NOTHING the NAACP can tell me to justify this decision. I have no respect for them. The founding fathers of the NAACP are spinning in their graves, this is NOT what they in mind. We are selling out left and right and going backwards instead of forward in our fight for education, equality and humanity.

NAACP = national advancement for COLORED people. Giving a scholarship to a convicted white murder has to be a COMPLETE JOKE played on the black community. I mean, the head of the NAACP must have lost a bet with a white racist, and the only form of payment, is to empower the very type of person who compelled those early NAACP pioneers. With all of the black makes dropping our of high school, the unemployment rate of blacks some 18%, college tuition rising a staggering 6% year by year since 2000... WTF. A WHITE GUY.... WHAT THA F&*K

NAACP = national advancement for COLORED people. Giving a scholarship to a convicted white murder has to be a COMPLETE JOKE played on the black community. I mean, the head of the NAACP must have lost a bet with a white racist, and the only form of payment, is to empower the very type of person who compelled those early NAACP pioneers. With all of the black makes dropping our of high school, the unemployment rate of blacks some 18%, college tuition rising a staggering 6% year by year since 2000... WTF. A WHITE GUY.... WHAT THA F&*K